We received the Share Steno CD311 retail package in our labs. The retail package is quite small,

and includes the CD311 device itself, a USB card reader (optional), a carrying case, a power adapter, two USB cables and two driver CDs (required only for Win98 operating systems).

Looking at the CD311 device, you'll notice on the top, 4 direction buttons (up, down, left right) in the centre of which is the OK button and above them the Power/Menu button. The LCD screen is backlit while the Apacer logo is also present in the bottom left hand corner.

On the back, we have the product label which lists the power ratings and approval logos.

On the right hand side we have the USB connection interface, while on the left there is the reset hole, used for resetting the hard disk in the event the system hangs.

The card reader also comes from Apacer,

supporting most memory card formats (CF, SD, MMC, MS, SM).

Underneath, there's a schematic of what type of card goes into which slot as well as instructions on orientation when inserting SD/MMC/miniSD and RS-MMC cards.

After removing the mounting screws, we were able to take a peek at the insides of the device. It is compact and well laid out and we also saw the drive used in the CD311, the "MK4025GAS" 2.5" HDD from Toshiba. For the future, it is quite possible that users will want to upgrade the device with a higher capacity HDD (there are already 100GB 2.5" drives available on the market).

According to the Toshiba website, the MK4025GAS has the following specifications:

• 2.5-inch 40 GB Capacity
• 2 ms Track to Track seek
• 1 Platter
• 12 ms Average Seek Time
• 8 MByte Data Buffer Capacity
• 9.5 mm (H) x 69.85 mm (W) x 100.0 mm (D)
• 94 g Weight
• 300,000 hours MTBF

If you decide to remove the HDD, then you will void the warranty (see photo below). There are also limitations if you open up the device, even to change the battery. The following extract is from the Apacer web site for battery replacement:
Before you open CD311, please read CD311 warranty card first. If you open CD311 during limited period, it will become "No Warranty".

The battery (Fujifilm NP-60) is rated at 1050mAh, enough to power the CD311 for one hour of continuous reading/writing from/to the HDD. Apacer suggests recharging the lithium battery at least once every three months in order to ensure battery life.

When the device is connected to the external power pack, the battery charge indicator LED glows orange while the battery recharges and stops when the battery is fully charged.

In case of low battery, the Apacer Share Steno CD311 let's us know what we should do :-)